"We were hungry and we ate it"
"You are disseminating xenophobic ideas. Lave the area, please," Tatyana Safonova, the manager of the Business Style Ltd, said in reply to NA MP Zaruhy Postanjian's request to account for the Company's denial to print their posters.
The Company took the order from the deputy two days ago and promised to print five posters in a few days. Zaruhy Postanjian paid them 20 000 drams. The next day a company employee rang up the deputy and said they were not allowed to print political posters. "Come and take your money," she told Zaruhy Postanjian.
In fact, the posters reportedly carrying xenophobic ideas read: "The Constitutional Court participated in the 1996 rigged elections," "We call for CC President Gagik Harutiunian's resignation!" "It is enough to try the patience of people!" "Armenian-Turkish Protocols + Madrid Principles + New Dispossession," etc
"Obviously, they hindered my event with their denial. If they had informed me earlier, I would have made an order to some other company," Zaruhy Postanjian told A1+.
Later, the Company said the printing machine was out of order.
"Why did you take 20 000 drams from me if the printing machine is out of order?" wondered Mrs. Postanjian.
"And who says that we owe you money?" Tatyana Safonova said ironically.
In the meantime, employees of Business Style were trying to intervene with A1+'s work saying they were not interested in the constitution and laws and we were forbidden to record the incident.
Later another representative of the company, an Arayik, turned up and said the printing had failed for some technical reasons. Then he asked to vacate the premises and put 20000 drams on the table. Arayik also asked A1+ to stop shooting. After we disobeyed he assaulted on A1+'s cameraman, grasped the camera and pushed A1+'s journalist.
A1+ was forced to apply to the police. On arriving at the site, the patrol force explained that the case should be taken to court since it is a civil issue. The police told A1+ that "Business Style" is a private company and A1+ had no right to shoot inside the building. (Actually, A1+ was shooting the activity of a National Assembly deputy).
Zaruhy Postanjian refused to take the money back and promised to appeal to court.
The broken part of A1+'s camera forcibly taken by the Company's representatives, wasn't returned. "We were hungry and we ate it," they said.
